Agreed. The OP came on here wanting an answer to a genuine question, and all he got was a sarcastic response. The thing to do now is restrain yourselves, lest you feel the urge to have the last word.

I actually noticed this too, and trawled the settings of the iPhone trying to find a way to block it popping up.

Hopefully Apple add this to the next update. Is it also like this on the first gen iPhone?

They probably won't

No way to prevent it, there hasn't been a way to prevent it aside from Huy's suggestion of Kate which is currently not available for 2.0 yet.

This SMS pop up is my biggest issue with the iPhone. That along with the absence of a reminder alert for SMS messages or missed calls if you don't see them the first time around.

I know that it can be rectified with a jailbroken iPhone and application however I want to hold off on that for the moment and hope that there will be something in the apps store soon, either that or Apple fix it themselves in a nearby update.

Apple might change their mind if a law suit arose due to the the privacy issue somewhere down the track.

Another app which fixes this issue for a 1.1.4 jailbroken phone is Intelliscreen (also paid, although there's a 15 day trial).

Works a treat for me, and I'm holding off from upgrading until such apps get ported across to the jailbroken 2.0 software.

I think for the moment with a 3G phone you're stuck waiting for the same, but it won't be too long before they pop up on Cydia.

Are you for real?

Why not? It is the US after all

But, I can understand the concern though. Only Windows Mobile pops up an SMS message on screen, while every other phone I have ever used either says the person who sent a message or just leaves a notification symbol on screen.

Can be embarrassing, but annoying at the same time!

I kind of like this feature. Since nobody else uses my phone.

For example this morning I received an SMS. I was doing something else on the phone at the time. The pop-up came up and the message was short and displayed, so I read it and hit 'Close' - continuing on with whatever I was doing.

There was no need to get into the 'SMS' application to do any of the checking or replying since it was an alert and disappeared, leaving me where I was without having to switch out of the app.

Stop slinging insults at insults, get back on topic ladies :P

If anyone does have an answer to this I'd find it useful too. Unfortunately not letting others play with your iphone is easier said than done. If someone says 'oh can I have a look?' you feel a right bastard saying 'no sod off'. Well, I do. Am I just too nice? :P

I totally agree if i'm the only one using my phone. Unfortunately I often leave it on my desk at work and if an SMS comes in when i'm away, people tend to have a squizz at my phone (different sms tone to all the nokia/se/moto users in the office). Having some kind of personal SMS displayed for all to see is disconcerting. That, and when people play with it I don't want SMS's popping up that might not be fit for their consumption. I'd be all for a popup that says 'New message from: Blah' with the option to have a preview or not. I'm sure it can't be that hard to change, but it would only be from the jailbroken software. Apple wouldn't like people messing with their own notification system

Someone you know, or some stranger?

If it's a stranger, they could run off with your phone, once you've unlocked it (I hope everybody uses passcode... it is annoying but it is a security feature). And SIM PINs.

If it's someone I know, I have no problems letting them play around etc.
If you leave it on the desk and walk away, shouldn't it auto-lock itself (sleep) after 1 minute or whenever? Then if an SMS comes in, you can disable SMS Preview in the Settings. So your workmates won't be able to unlock your phone (passcode required) and they won't be able to see your SMS, because it will just say 'New SMS from Joe Bloggs' without showing the message.

Unless your workmates are very fast and prevent your iPhone from going to sleep when you're away, by keeping it alive (touching the screen). Or you are not using passcode, SMS preview disabling, or auto-lock after X minutes.

I had a problem yesterday in regards to default tones - someone in my class (uni) has an iPhone and their phone started ringing. It was also my ringtone... I panicked for no reason - default iPhone ringtone. The same would apply for default iPhone SMS tones.

I have 2 jobs, and one of them involves working with the public a lot, with a lot of regular customers. They often want to take a look at it, with me there, and i usually let them. The last thing I want them to see is my personal life splashed up via an SMS
Maybe i'm blind but I can't find this? I have the auto lock obviously, but no screen lock with PIN or no-preview SMS option. Is there such a menu on a non-jailbroken 3G one? (I know my old 1st gen had all kinds of stuff I installed on it, but im not going to jailbreak this one just yet).

my work around:

join twitter, set up sms, turn on device notifications for a bunch of kids that never shut up. then, if someone looks at your phone the message will always read something like

[Text: Twitter x 7 ]

scratch that I found it Silly location for it :P

No Offence ... but i pissed myself laughing at this !!

Squeezer ... LOL!!! love it.